I Heart Muckabees
by iloveromance
Summary: Daphne buys a special gift for Martin to make up for a long ago mistake. (Episode: "Love Bites Dog")


They were driving down Spring Street when she saw it. The sight, when it came into view, was so unexpected that she literally gasped, much like an excited child.

"Oh Niles, look!" She shouted.

From his position in the driver's seat, Niles turned to her, clearly confused by her sudden excitement. "What?"

She thrust her finger toward the window. "Over there, don't you see it? Oh my God, I can't believe it! Pull over, Niles! Hurry!"

His eyebrows rose. "What? _Here?_ "

"Yes, now hurry up, Niles! I don't want to miss it!"

"But Daphne, the traffic-."

"Please Niles? For me?" She grinned sweetly, purposely giving him a look that she knew that he couldn't resist. And sure enough, he slowed the car to a crawl and began looking for a parking place. But even on a weekday in the middle of the afternoon, cars seemed to fill every available spot along the busy street.

"Daphne, do we have to do this now? There's no-."

"STOP!"

The car jolted to a halt, sending them both flying foreword. Luckily they were responsible enough to have put on their seatbelts. Daphne knew full well how important being safe in a car really was; especially after driving with the likes of Simon in Manchester. But suddenly her seatbelt proved to be conforming. Her fingers trembled as she struggled to unfasten it and then scrambled out of the car, slamming the door so hard that the car swayed slightly.

Niles, however, was unperturbed, and continued to stare at her in disbelief. "Daphne, what's going on? Where are you going?"

"Just… Go and find a parking place, okay? I'll be all right."

"But-."

"Just _go_ , Niles, okay?"

"Daphne-."

"I'll be all right. Just go!"

"But what are you-."

Without waiting for him to continue, Daphne rushed down the sidewalk. But she'd barely moved away from the car when she froze and turned around. Niles still sat in the same position, bringing a rush of guilt over her. What was wrong with her, getting so excited over something so silly? But it wasn't silly. It wasn't silly at all. It was wonderful. Still, she couldn't just leave Niles alone to worry about her. And she knew full well that he would worry about her, since she hadn't bothered to tell him where she was going.

With a sigh she ran back to the car and opened the door, climbing into the driver's seat. He was still watching her intently; so intently, in fact that he didn't see the black pickup truck in front of them come to a halt.

"Niles! Look out!" She yelled, causing him to slam on the breaks once more. This jolt was even stronger than the first and they were thrown foreword once again. But when he returned his gaze to hers, she could see that he was deeply shaken by the near-accident. Concerned for him, she put her hand on his forearm.

"Niles? Sweetheart, are you all right?"

He closed his eyes and then opened them again, turning to her. "I-I'm fine. A-are you… all right?"

She smiled at the concern on his face. She did love him so.

She touched his cheek with her hand, wanting so much to kiss him. But there would be plenty of time for kisses. At that moment she was on a mission.

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm fine. I'm sorry I startled you, but-." Her head swung around to the sight that had turned her world temporarily upside down in the first place. And the giddy feeling returned.

"Daphne, are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Niles. But… Oh, Niles can we please pull over for a few minutes?"

His eyebrows rose. "Pull over? But why? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Nothing's wrong at all. In fact, it's wonderful! I can't believe this is happening! It's like a sign. I know you don't believe in me psychic powers, but I really think this is a sign!" She turned to the sight of her affection and sighed. "I just can't believe it! This is like a dream come true! And here I thought that it would never happen!"

"Daphne, you know that I love you and I always will, but I have to know… what on earth are you talking about?"

But she was already opening the door, this time, closing it with less force than before. "I'll meet you at the front, okay?"

"Th-the front? The front of where?"

"Over there! Don't you see it?"

His eyes searched the street. "I-No, I have no idea what you're talking about but, I'll find a parking place. I just-."

She leaned into the driver's seat and kissed him. "I love you."

He was trying, she could tell, to deepen the kiss. And it was tempting; oh so tempting. But she pulled away with reluctance. She couldn't look at him, for she knew that she'd hurt his feelings, by not telling him her secret. It hurt her to keep it from him, but she vowed to make it up to him. It would have been so easy just to go home, but she simply couldn't let this wonderfully unexpected opportunity pass her by. She'd waited much too long and seeing it now…

Well, it was definitely a sign.

She watched as Niles moved the car forward and slowly made his way down the busy street. As promised she made her way to the storefront, wading through the passersby on the sidewalk. Normally she would have enjoyed the opportunity to people watch, but now she was much too animated.

Her curiosity growing, she peered into the window like a child peering into an elaborate Christmas toy display, using her hands to shield the sunlight from view.

Inside it looked like a magical place; a thought that made her laugh out loud. Who ever heard of a store being magical? But when she looked through the window again, she realized that, in a sense, it was magical. Through the window she could see rows and rows of shelves containing the thing that she'd been searching for, for what seemed like ages…..

Muckabees….


End file.
